Questions regarding Training Pt 1 - Background.

Edmund Carter-Anderson
Jan 7, 2020
4 min read

Often on Instagram we get questions (which we do not mind and love to answer/ point you in the direction of someone who can if we cannot) about the boys training. I thought I would do a few posts about the type of training that we do and some techniques we have used to help us.

For a bit of background ; I am not a trainer, I am not qualified in anyway to train other people's dogs or give advice. What I do know is what I have been taught, read or observed and these are things that have worked for us. Just remember that : A. training is an ongoing thing and you never stop. B. Dogs are not robots, they have their off days/bad days just like us. If this has happened end the day/session on a happy note and try again tomorrow.

Our background in training;

Puppy Ed started baby obedience with “Training dogs for life” with dog guru Rose just after he had had his second round of puppy shots (roughly 3mo). He was teeny tiny and afraid of the children in the class. We learnt basic skills including

Life essentials - toilet training etc

Sit

Come

Stay

Down

Stand

Leave

Loose leash walking

This was a five week course and baby Ed flourished (as long as children were not around). They gave us Ziwi peak trial packs for treats and had competitions where dogs could win ribbons for doing the most obedience work (usually in the quickest time) as well as a graded certificate. Ed received 2 ribbons - first and second place and got an A- certificate, being beaten by the smart puppy Border Collie “Dani”.

After “Baby puppy” Ed moved onto refined manners. This is the level 2 of TDFL training courses. It involved the same system but this time we learnt distance controls and harder commands (I cannot for the life of me remember what exactly we learnt as it was almost 3 years ago but I do remember I taught Ed to crawl and he won the musical chairs game) across 6 weeks.

After this we wanted to start agility with them but there were not enough people so we stopped doing classes and started doing our own thing. Ed started dog walking with Daisy for a year until Hurricane Hux came along and then together we decided he would be better to just chill at home.

Hux was different and as a puppy we already knew how to teach the fundamentals/ life saving skills from when Ed was younger we did not do puppy training officially with him.

Instead we sent him to TDFL daycare where he spent 6 weeks playing with other puppies and older dogs to help socialize him more. Was this the right thing to do? I am not sure. On insta now I see more and more negative things about socializing dogs in this way and how it can lead to reactivity. For us at the time over a year ago it was the right thing to do and allowed Ed to have a break (he was still walking with Daisy at this point) and Hux to have fun with other dogs.

The main things we wanted to teach both boys were essential life skills such as :

Toilet training

Not biting / nipping

Not jumping up (still working on this with Hux when he is super excited)

Recall / come

Leave it

Drop it (or give if we are holding it)

Sit

Down (lie down)

Off ( Hop off)

Stay

After that came the cute and fun tricks to show off to others and engage the boys mind. Training and playing games with the boys is my favorite way to grow our relationship and our bond. A strong bond means the boys are more likely to listen to me and choose me as the “fun” object when we are out and about. It also means I can take photos of them for Instagram or teach Ed how to differentiate alcohol types (here).